Jungles and Workshops and Sith Lords, Oh, My! (Darth Erebos)

[Grace Darkson]

Grace studied the planet data on the screen. She was sitting on Coruscant, waiting for permission to take off. Customs had passed, she was, after all a citizen of One Sith Space, even though she went to school across the galaxy. She had returned for a brief holiday, making sure Silvana Gaming was running well, and to make the latest payment on her small apartment. It was nice to have a place to fall back on. But where she was headed was anything but nice.

Korriz was a temperate planet, with a varied climate. However, from what she could find, it hadn't seen a sentient colony or visit of any sort in thousands of years. Whatever was down there was overgrown and wild. Perhaps there was a native species that had achieved sentience. Or maybe the entire world was feral.

The area she was headed for, as far as she could tell, was the jungle region near the planet's equator. According to one, said jungle was tainted with the Dark Side due to an old workshop of a long dead Sith Lord. Perhaps she could find something of interest there.

"Explorer Two, this is Control, you are clear for launch." The voice rang out through the cabin, causing Grace to glance up from the datapad where she was juggling her notes. Sending a message of gratitude back to the tower, she slid the datapad away and guided the ship slowly into the sky. Sighing as she finally left the gravity well, she plotted the course for the Daragon Trail hyperlane. It would be her best bet to get past the Stygian Caldera and into Old Sith Space.

Grave stood as the ship moved through hyperspace, turning to the hold, and beginning to pour over the information she had on Korriz and the Sith who had been there. Most of it was old legends, but she had done projects like this before. You just had to know what to look for.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

The shimmer of holograms with planetary information and sith lore shimmered in the air around the jagged throne, the blue of the holograms shinning of the six crystals of the throne. In the middle was an armored robe clad figure it's mask obscuring any way to see his or hers face as it seemed to simply look over the holograms, devouring the information they held. The bridge of the Doppelgangers Lament was silent but busy as the crew went around and did their jobs, all under the watchful eyes of a grizzled old veteran Captain.
Captain Pelarious stood a few steps away from Darth Erebos the ships main designer and owner while the sith poured over the information he had data dumped from the sith archives of Coruscant, The bridge was dim as the lights were turned down low to allow the Holograms to be clearly seen. Darth Erebos was focused on sith magic and alchemy the objects and knowledge he sought after with much of his free time.
"My Lord, have you decided on a course yet?" Captain Pelarious asked as he turned to regard the master of the ship. "I have in fact done just that captain." Erebos said as he waved his hand and the holograms were turned of and he stood up as he walked towards the middle of the bridge. "Navigation, bring up the Stygium Caldera sector." He said as he then pointed at one of the few planets that were outlined within. "Here Korriz, that is our destination. Active the cloaking and stealth systems as soon as we are out of hyperspace." He then ordered as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"But my lord it is Techno union space, aren't they our allies?" The captain asked. "They are but the relationship is very... strained at the moment. I don't want to add to that strain unnecessarily so Activate the stealth systems as soon as we are out of hyperspace." He then ordered, his tone hard and cold.
It didn't take long for the ship to jump into hyperspace after that, the bridge view port out looking a tunnel of hues of the blue of hyperspace.

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Grace had managed to make a guess on what she was looking into here. The Sith known as Tritos Nal, apparently very skilled in both the art of Sith Sorcery, and the science of Alchemy. Legend had it that he had made some form of sword in a hidden workshop on the planet. A sword that was apparently powerful enough to cause another Sith Lord to spend time and resources to steal and destroy it. From her limited research into Alchemy, that was an impressive feat. But even so, whatever information she could find there would be useful. Even if there was nothing left there that Nal had made, his notes and papers alone could be useful.

The alert that they would be returning to real space came a second too late for Grace to strap in, and the jolt caused her to loose her balance. Slamming her hands down on the table to stay upright, she winced at the pain. I've spent too much time studying. Time to get back into it. She was in Primeval space, but they weren't too focused on one ship entering just outside the Korriban system. She was in the Caldera. Plotting one last jump, she sat in the cockpit, waiting for the stars to streak once again. She smiled. Whatever lay ahead, she would take it. She would win. There would be spells to learn, forges to try out, and maybe, if she was lucky, a holocron. Wouldn't that be something.

The stars returned, and before her eyes, the swirling white clouds of Korriz appeared before her.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

Erebos got a small chime into his meditation chamber to signal that the ship was about to come out of hyperspace. He had just reached the bridge when the internal dampeners took the jolt of coming out of hyperspace and turned it to nothing. "The jump was successful and we are..." The captain reported looking towards a section of the bridge dedicated to the stealth systems, earning a nod from the technician at that station he continued. "Fully stealthed and ready for more orde...rs?" The captain looked puzzled as Erebos walked passed him and didn't stop until he was at the large viewport of the bridge, looking down the bow of the ship towards Korriz of in the distance, little more visible to him than a moon would be in the sky on a dark night.
'Someone else is here..' He thought as he sensed the ripples in the force and then looked towards the radar and sensor section of the bridge. "Scan the planet and it's surrounding and report when you can." He said and then he turned his head up to look at Captain Pelarious. "Make sure a shuttle is prepped and ready for launch as soon as we are in orbit of the planet." He said and then dismissed the captain with a wave and turned to look out the viewport again. One hand around his chest while the other rested on said arm and gripped the chin of his mask as he was deep in thought. 'Did someone beat me here? or is it something... else?'

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Grace let the scanners of her ship ping the jungle, hoping to find something abnormal. At the same time, she let herself reach out through the Force, searching the jungle for any sign of it. She couldn't find anything serious, but she could sense that one area of the jungle gave off a greater surge of Dark Side energy. Slowly, she opened her eyes, checking the scanners. The scanner flashed something. Two somethings, actually. The scanner had picked up a geographical anomaly on the surface. The other showed that there had been a gravitational shift in the area. that was odd, but she didn't know what it was. She let it continue to scan for any more fluctuation before turning to the geography scanner. It had picked up an unusual formation in the jungle.

It seemed that there was a patch of stone jutting up from the ground, almost like a sort of small mountain. But it didn't make much sense. The topography of the area wouldn't allow for such a formation. Unless it wan't natural. It had to be something of the ancient Sith left to time.

Excited now, Grace sent the ship downwards, into the atmosphere to look for a landing spot. Maybe she could find first hand sources on the secrets of the Sith. Learn from the notes of a master. Maybe, just maybe, there would be a holocron there.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

The radar and navigation's stations suddenly pinged and both ensigns suddenly turned and were about to speak but both suddenly sized up. Erebos's Tuk'ata had raised their heads and had moved to his side, both were growling softly as they just stared out the viewport. "There is someone there isn't there." He then said calmly, a statement not a question. "What else?" He then finished as he turned his head to the side to seem to be looking at the ensigns. "Well my lord we have detected a large stone structure within a part of the planets numerous jungles, we believe it to be an ancient sith ziggurat." The navigation's ensign reported. "And I believe there is another ship already headed there right now." The radar ensign then added.
Erebos massaged his chin a little with the hand already holding onto it. "Take us down above that ship and make sure that the tractor beams are ready to be used on that ship on my order but keep the stealth systems on for now." He then ordered and smiled a little under his mask as he then nodded to captain Pelarious and headed to the hangar for the shuttle that would take him to the surface from the ship itself.

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

As she dived above the trees towards the temple hill complex, Grace felt it. A warning. On instinct, she sharpened the dive, pulling up within a hundred meters of the trees. She didn't know what it was, but she wanted to be gone. She wanted to get into the temple. As the ship skimmed over the jungle, she thought about what lay ahead.

There probably wouldn't be traps set out. This was a temple and a workplace, not a tomb. There may be servants of the Sith Lord, cultist living there who worship him as a god. There may be Sithspawn, experiments who turned the local wildlife into monsters of the Darkside, twisted creatures tormented and enraged. Or perhaps there was something she didn't understand. That was always terrifying.

As she approached the temple, she noticed there was a large landing pad sitting in front, mostly reclaimed by nature. She could easily manage to fit her ship in twice over. Plenty more room if someone else were to land. While worrisome, she didn't think someone else was coming. Setting down in the corner closest to the temple, where the plants seemed to avoid, she stepped onto the landing pad and began walking up to the temple.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

The Doppelgangers lament stayed in low orbit above the Temple, just skimming the atmosphere as per it's masters orders. With the shuttle however the ride wasn't as smooth, the turbulence of the upper atmosphere was ever present and shook the shuttle as it descended towards the temple. The Pilot made sure Erebos would know as soon as the sensors were back online as entering and leaving a planet always left them blind somehow, much to the frustration of millions of spacers.
A quick circle around the temple with the bay door open allowed Erebos a good look over the temple before they settled down on a landing pad that the pilot had spotted on the pass by. Once teh shuttle landed Erebos disembarked and his eyebrow raised under his mask as he looked over the other ship that had come before hand. While usually it would annoy him to no end to be the second to such a site it also somehow made it exiting to be in a race against someone else to discover the secretes of the temple for himself.
With a wave of his hand he commanded the four troopers that disembarked after him to stay and defend the shuttle while he proceed alone ahead. "Make sure you set up a defensive perimeter, there is no telling what is inside that jungle." He said as he departed towards the temple. A slight light in the force ahead of him piqued his interest, it wasn't that of a light side but rather of someone skipping along the dark side, not fully immersed yet still trying to become in it's own way. 'An acolyte perhaps? or simply a force user that wishes for the secrets of the dark side...' He puzzled as he made his way towards the light at a steady walking pace, as much as he wanted normal eyes being able to see through the force was always a boon to him and he reluctantly acknowledged that.

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Standing in the archway for a moment, Grace soaked in the dark power of the temple, drinking in the feeling of anger and rage as she stepped into the darkened hallway. Pulling out a glowrod, she scanned the hall, and the first room, before hearing the door slam shut behind her. Reaching out in the force, she searched for anything. There were a pair of beings headed for her location, shambling down the halls. She had maybe a minute before they arrived.

Swinging the glowrod around, she let it settle on a table to the side of the room. On it was a book. Slowly walking over, she read the cover. Though her knowledge of the Sith language wasn't great, she knew the word sorcery. Excited, she picked up the book, shoving it into the small pack she carried. The first of the shambling creatures entered the room.

Grace spun, shining the glowrod directly into it's face. The sithspawn, after living in the darkness of the temple's unlit catacomes for thousands of years, reeled back in horror at the bright light. Dropping her light, the Vahla's lightsaber sprang from her sleeve. With a quick lunge, her blade sank into the creature's arm. Another howl escaped it's mouth, and the creature swung at her, knocking her prone. Grace responded with a telepathic blast, shredding the wounded creature's mind and leaving it comatose on the floor.

As she landed. her lightsaber skidding out of her hand, she felt the other creature draw closer. pulling the Force to her, she prepared to lash the creature's mind, attempting to subjugate it.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Standing in the archway for a moment, Grace soaked in the dark power of the temple, drinking in the feeling of anger and rage as she stepped into the darkened hallway. Pulling out a glowrod, she scanned the hall, and the first room, before hearing the door slam shut behind her. Reaching out in the force, she searched for anything. There were a pair of beings headed for her location, shambling down the halls. She had maybe a minute before they arrived.

Swinging the glowrod around, she let it settle on a table to the side of the room. On it was a book. Slowly walking over, she read the cover. Though her knowledge of the Sith language wasn't great, she knew the word sorcery. Excited, she picked up the book, shoving it into the small pack she carried. The first of the shambling creatures entered the room.

Grace spun, shining the glowrod directly into it's face. The sithspawn, after living in the darkness of the temple's unlit catacomes for thousands of years, reeled back in horror at the bright light. Dropping her light, the Vahla's lightsaber sprang from her sleeve. With a quick lunge, her blade sank into the creature's arm. Another howl escaped it's mouth, and the creature swung at her, knocking her prone. Grace responded with a telepathic blast, shredding the wounded creature's mind and leaving it comatose on the floor.

As she landed. her lightsaber skidding out of her hand, she felt the other creature draw closer. pulling the Force to her, she prepared to lash the creature's mind, attempting to subjugate it.

[member="Darth Erebos"]

 

[Shaddi]

As he walked he could see that the doors that held him at bay from reaching the girl on the other side, he could see it clearly now that [member="Grace Darkson"] was in fact a woman. He watched as the sithspawn came into the room and came at her. 'Interesting, she shows promise and skill.' He thought as he observed her but then she was hit back and he reached into the force himself.
As the Sithspawn was about to come at Grace, red force lightning erupted under it and fried it on the spot, causing it to fall down on it's knees, it's face twisted in a silent scream of agony and smoke coming of it's body as it fell backwards. Erebos then pressed his hand against the door in front of him, pouring his power into the door but he soon discovered that he wouldn't be able to open these doors with his power alone. To open these doors he would have to get deeper into the temple, he realized this as he had read of such temples in the libraries on Corucsant. "Hmmm." He let out as he looked towards the side and found another entrance that lead into the temple.

Once he was sufficiently deep inside the temple, enough so that the sun outside didn't provide any light at all he was assaulted by a sith spawn, a brute to be sure. Moving to the side to avoid a blow from this powerful but lumbering beast, Erebos wouldn't expend any more energy than he had to and gave the spawn a quick jab into it's throat, though he was back handed for it as the spawn flailed about trying to breath before collapsing as it suffocated from a sealed throat.
Dusting himself off he had to admit that he liked the fact he could see so easily in the dark as he did in the light.